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Content type: Announcements
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Faster releases for a faster world – First semi-annual release of Windows Server
September is always an exciting month for those of us at Microsoft who work in the Windows Server business. September means Ignite, which is always packed with opportunities to connect with great customers and unveil exciting announcements. And this year is no exception! Today we are excited to announce the launch of the first release![a man and a woman looking at a laptop](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Two-people-on-a-tablet-2-300x164.webp)
Sneak peek #4: Introducing Project “Honolulu”, our new Windows Server management experience
This blog post was authored by Samuel Li, Principal Program Manager Lead, Windows Server. Today, we are thrilled to unveil the next step in our journey for Windows Server graphical management experiences. In less than two weeks at Microsoft Ignite, we will launch the Technical Preview release of Project “Honolulu”, a flexible, locally-deployed, browser-based management![a man sitting in a chair talking on a cell phone](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Two-people-on-a-tablet-3-1-300x164.webp)
Sneak peek #3: Windows Server, version 1709 for developers
Windows 10 and Windows Server are built on customer feedback. We use the tools built right into Windows to maintain a continuous cycle of feedback from our customers used to drive refinements and new features. After the launch of Windows Server 2016...![a person standing in front of a laptop](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Developers-chatting-at-desk_Ranbir_02-300x164.jpg)
Sneak peek #2: Windows Server, version 1709 hyper-converged infrastructure
A decade ago came the virtualization wave, where datacenters filled full of hundreds of servers were virtualized and reduced to dozens of servers. The consolidation of the compute layer brought incredible cost savings to the business, and IT admins were hailed as heroes.![a group of people looking at a laptop](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Team-meeting-2-300x164.webp)
Announcing support for SATADOM boot drives in Windows Server 2016
As you are probably aware, Hyper-V was launched way back in Windows Server 2008. It’s been almost a decade of evolution based on customer feedback and most recently our learnings in running Azure. The entire operating system changed because of the hypervisor and many other features were added to support the new norm – applications run on virtual machines today.![background pattern](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Windows-Server-brand-gradient-1-300x164.webp)
Announcing the new VMware migration offer for Windows Server 2016
With the launch of Windows Server 2016, customers have more reasons than ever to switch from VMware to Microsoft. We want to make it an easy decision for VMware customers to switch to Hyper-V, so today we are announcing a new VMware migration offer. Free Windows Server Datacenter licenses when you buy Windows Server Datacenter![a group of people looking at a laptop](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Team-meeting-2-300x164.webp)
Windows Server 2016 Installation Option Changes
Last week, we released Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 3. If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out the new preview, you can download it here and read more about the preview in a recent blog post from Mike Schutz. One thing you’ll notice in Technical Preview 3 is an update to the installation![a person standing in front of a computer](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Developer-whiteboard-worksession_Jason_02-300x164.jpg)
Microsoft Cloud Platform System: Storage Performance Overview Now Available
With the availability of the Microsoft Cloud Platform System (CPS), we’re excited to now share an overview of storage-focused performance of a single rack CPS stamp, with real workloads, at real scale. The paper we’re releasing here covers the following three scenarios, scaled across a deployment of tenant virtual machines (VMs): Scenario 1. Boot storm:![a group of people sitting at a table](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Boardroom-meeting-300x164.jpg)
August updates for Windows Server 2012 R2
In today’s Windows Experience blog, we communicated our intent to deliver regular improvements to Windows in order to address feedback quickly while continuing to bring you an enterprise-class platform. We also provided a heads up that the next update for Windows happens on August 12. On August 12, we will also release an update to Windows![a person standing in front of a whiteboard](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IT-Pro-portrait-in-modern-office-300x164.jpg)
Windows Server 2012 R2 Update is now generally available
Following our announcement from last week, we are happy to announce that Windows Server 2012 R2 Update is now generally available through Windows Update. The Windows Server 2012 R2 evaluation experience and has also been updated to the new OS image. The Volume Licensing Service Center will be updated on April 14, 2014 and the![a man sitting at a table using a laptop](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Person-working-on-a-desktop-2-300x164.webp)